Chapter 77. Kin, Radiation (3)
Crackle! Crackle!
Unable to endure the burning pain caused by the White Flame surrounding its entire body, the chicken rolled frantically across the ground.
However, no matter how much it twisted and struggled, the White Flame continued burning fiercely, as though determined to erase even the last trace of demonic energy.
"SQUEEEEEAL! SQUEEEEEAL!"
The four-legged chicken seemed to have reached the limits of its pain tolerance, letting out desperate screams that sounded like a pig being slaughtered.
"Haa. To think I'd lose this child too, and in such a ridiculous way."
Everything had happened so quickly that Radiation could only let out a disbelieving laugh.
The goat...
Radiation turned his head to check on the goat.
Perhaps because of Michael's murderous aura, the goat was too busy trembling in fear to do anything else.
At this rate, the deaths of the other children will have been meaningless.
Frowning, Radiation looked over the three children he had lost.
The goby had already turned to ash, the toad had lost the upper half of its body, and finally, the chicken, which had been struggling only moments earlier...
There's no hope for it.
It seemed the chicken had finally died, as its body was beginning to turn into ash.
Feeling empty, Radiation looked up at the sky. Even though it was nighttime, the sky remained gray.
For some reason, the red light hidden behind the clouds seemed to reflect his children's grief tonight.
How did things end up like this?
Neither Marbas nor anyone else had specifically warned him about White Flame.
Since Cell had been sent to face Michael first, Radiation had been told that Cell's role was to deal him a devastating blow. Naturally, he had expected Michael to be considerably weakened by the time they met.
Radiation had believed that his own abilities and the children he had raised would be more than enough to hold back even a Great Demon.
"Hiss. Hoooh."
Feeling frustrated, Radiation drew in a deep breath and slowly exhaled.
Rapid regeneration, of all things.
The only information he had gained in exchange for his children's deaths concerned Michael's abilities.
Other than the ominous flames that devoured demonic energy and his unbelievable regeneration, Radiation hadn't discovered anything particularly useful.
"Hiss. Hoooh."
Taking another deep breath, Radiation carefully examined Michael's arm.
Fortunately, he could still sense the radiation contaminating it. At least his children's deaths hadn't been completely meaningless.
However, the contamination was limited to one area. It wasn't enough to kill Michael on its own.
But with this, things will be different.
Radiation fiddled with the small box Marbas had given him.
He still had a chance. If he used the contents of the box together with his own ability, he could spread the radiation contaminating Michael's arm throughout his entire body.
"Hmph. No matter what you do, you don't have much longer to live."
Judging by the way Michael had willingly entered the toad's stomach, he probably didn't know much about radiation.
Radiation exaggerated the danger in an attempt to put him under psychological pressure.
"Are you talking about this?"
Frowning, Michael raised the arm in which he could feel the unpleasant energy.
Haa. What the hell is wrong with this guy?
Radiation was dumbfounded that Michael had immediately identified the location of the contamination, but he didn't lose his confidence. Knowing where the problem was didn't mean Michael could cure it.
"Hiss. Hoooh. Judging by your contaminated condition, you'll start suffering from dehydration within a few hours. Then your skin tissue will become damaged, and your immune system will completely collapse. Once that happens, you'll become something that can hardly be called alive, even if you're still breathing. Who knows? If you're lucky, you might turn into a mutant."
As Radiation listed the terrible consequences in his muffled voice, Michael examined the contaminated area.
So that's why it's been itching and aching.
When he concentrated on the pain, he realized that his regeneration ability couldn't keep up with the damage caused by the radiation exposure.
These symptoms made Radiation's explanation sound believable.
"That certainly would be troublesome."
Radiation was delighted by Michael's lukewarm response.
If Michael had properly understood radiation, he wouldn't have reacted so vaguely. He would have recognized Radiation's lies and dismissed them as nonsense.
"Don't worry. If you become a mutant, I'll train you properly. Hehehe."
Now that things seemed to be going his way, Radiation burst into a sinister laugh.
"Idiot. What are you laughing at?"
Irritated by Radiation's unpleasant laughter, Michael raised Durandal and placed it against his contaminated arm.
"...What are you trying to do?"
"If it's really that dangerous, wouldn't it be better to cut the problem off at its source? I can feel that strange energy coming from this part, so cutting it off should solve the problem, right?"
Michael raised Durandal.
SLASH!
Then he brought it straight down.
"You crazy bastard!"
Radiation's eyes widened at Michael's decisive action of cutting off his own arm.
Even knowing Michael possessed an abnormal regeneration ability, Radiation had never imagined that he would actually sever his arm.
Doing that would remove his immediate concern about the radiation, but...
"Do you not feel pain at all?!"
Looking at the severed arm, Radiation shouted at Michael.
How many humans could treat the pain of losing an arm as though it were nothing?
As far as Radiation knew, almost none.
Step, step.
"Of course I feel pain. I just endure it. I've already decided that I'm going to beat the shit out of you, no matter what it takes."
Michael calmly answered as he approached Radiation, his arm having already regenerated as though nothing had happened.
Gritting his teeth, Radiation grabbed the lid of the box Marbas had given him.
I have no choice but to use this now.
Radiation recalled what was inside the box.
It contained a single parasite. According to Marbas, it acted like a stimulant that could more than double his current power.
Creeeak.
Radiation quietly opened the creaking box and looked inside.
A parasite resembling a slug was wriggling within it.
Without hesitation, Radiation slightly lifted the bottom of his gas mask and tipped the parasite into his mouth.
Gulp.
"Ghk!"
He could feel the parasite he had swallowed moving through his entire body like flowing water, searching for somewhere to burrow into.
Since his body had already been thoroughly soaked in radiation, he had assumed it was impossible to experience any greater pain. However, wherever the parasite traveled, the parts of his body contaminated by radiation began suffering violent spasms.
CRUNCH! CRUNCH!
Letting out a faint groan, Radiation grabbed both of his legs tightly in an attempt to endure the pain.
He could feel the parasite's movement through his organs.
Its journey through his body, tearing through one place after another, finally came to an end when it found a home it liked.
The moment the parasite began putting down roots without hesitation,
"KIEEEEEK!"
"HAAAAAH!"
The faces sewn onto Radiation's abdomen began screaming.
CRACK! CRACK! SHATTER!
Whether it was because of the screams or the changes taking place inside his body, the lenses of Radiation's gas mask shattered.
Now that wearing the gas mask itself had become uncomfortable, Radiation removed it.
